131: Chapter 131 Bloodline Warning

This sharp pain coming from the depths of his Bloodline was more direct than any attack on his Divine Soul, like a red-hot iron rod branded fiercely into the deepest part of Lin Haoyu's consciousness.

"Father is in danger!"

This thought exploded like a thunderclap, making him instantly forget the terrifying Bone-Eroding Demon General behind him, as well as his own situation. In his heart, only one thought remained—go back!

He turned around like a madman and rushed toward the passage he had come from, shattering the rocks beneath his feet with every step, pushing his speed to the limit.

"Brother Lin, calm down!" Tie Xin grabbed his shoulder, his muscles knotted like iron clamps, holding him down tightly. "Going back now is suicide! We cannot deal with that Demon General!"

"Let go of me!" Lin Haoyu's eyes were bloodshot, his Spiritual Qi surging out of control as he struggled to shake off Tie Xin's grip.

"The barrier is about to break!" Yun Shang's cold, clear voice carried a hint of urgency, interrupting their dispute.

The earthy-yellow barrier, condensed from the final power of the Wutu Spirit Turtle, was under the dual impact of the Demon General's screeching and the surging Moyuan Qi from behind the gate. The cracks on its surface were as dense as a spiderweb, and it was on the verge of complete collapse.

"Boom!"

The barrier shattered in response, turning into specks of light filling the sky.

The out-of-control Moyuan Qi, like a breached black torrent, was about to swallow the three of them in an instant.

Lin Haoyu felt a chill in his heart; his instinct for survival overcame his anxiety.

He grabbed Tie Xin and Yun Shang by the arms, and the Void Ring on his index finger flashed with light. The activated power of the Wutu True Source erupted along his arm, forming a temporary earthy-yellow wall of light behind him, barely blocking the deadly black Qi for a fleeting moment.

"Go!" he roared. Taking advantage of this brief respite, he dragged the two of them and rushed into the passage he had come from without looking back.

Behind them, the resentful Divine Thought of the Bone-Eroding Demon General sounded again from behind the gate, but it was weakened by the giant bronze door and the winding passage, becoming blurry and indistinct.

The three did not dare to stop for a second, running wildly all the way.

They didn't know how long they had been running, but when a glimmer of light that didn't belong to the underground world shone in from the passage ahead, Lin Haoyu's heart tightened.

The exit was here!

He scrambled out of the pitch-black cave entrance, and the blinding sunlight made him squint instinctively.

But the next second, the color drained from his face.

The sky was not the clear expanse he remembered.

Endless black clouds of the Heavenly Tribulation were like an inverted ocean, covering the entire back mountain of the Qingmu Sect. Lightning snakes danced wildly in the clouds, emitting dull, oppressive thunder. That earth-shattering pressure made him almost unable to breathe.

That was a Golden Core Lightning Tribulation! It was his father's Lightning Tribulation!

The center of the tribulation clouds was directly above the mountain peak where his father was in seclusion.

However, the moment Lin Haoyu rushed out of the Secret Realm, a sudden change occurred!

The tribulation clouds, which should have been locked onto the mountain peak where his father was in seclusion, suddenly rolled and twisted violently, like a shark that had smelled blood, and then... changed direction!

Like an awakened ancient beast, the massive tribulation clouds shifted as a whole. The most terrifying aura of destruction at its center no longer pointed toward his father in seclusion, but locked directly onto Lin Haoyu, who had just rushed out of the Secret Realm!

"What is going on?!"

Before Lin Haoyu could even think, the Void Ring on his index finger suddenly shot out a slender silver thread that submerged into mid-air.

The silver thread moved rapidly through the air, using the Five Elements of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth as nodes, outlining a huge Void Five Elements formation diagram identical to the one on his right arm.

On the formation diagram, countless complex threads of Karma were intertwined, clearly showing him the root of this incredible scene—the target of the Lightning Tribulation was not him, but the drop of... Wutu True Source that was wrapped and resonating with the Five Elements power on his right arm!

"Damn it! This Lightning Tribulation has eyes!" Tie Xin, who rushed out right after him, looked up and let out a strange cry, frightened by this spectacle.

"Boom-crack!"

Without giving them any time to react, the first Lightning Tribulation had already taken form!

It was a five-colored lightning Dragon as thick as a water bucket, roaring as it poked its hideous head out from the tribulation clouds, tearing through the sky, and striking down with terrifying power capable of leveling a mountain peak!

Run? It was too late!

The pressure of the Lightning Tribulation completely locked the space for a hundred yards around. The air was as thick as mercury, making it extremely difficult to even lift a finger.

"It's over!" Tie Xin's face was filled with despair.

At this critical moment, Lin Haoyu suddenly drew the half-broken sword from his back and, using all his strength, fiercely plunged it into the hard rock beneath his feet!

"Pfft—"

The blade sank in for about a foot, standing steadily on the ground like a lightning rod.

"What are you doing?!" Tie Xin exclaimed.

Lin Haoyu did not answer, but poured all the Spiritual Qi in his body into the broken sword.

On the sword body, the bloodstain caused by his own blood suddenly lit up, and a faint, ethereal Sword Intent of Law-Breaking emerged from the body, meeting the earth-shattering lightning Dragon!

"Boom!"

The five-colored lightning Dragon struck the tip of the broken sword precisely.

The earth-shattering explosion that was expected did not happen.

That sharp Sword Intent of Law-Breaking instantly cut into the core of the lightning Dragon like a master chef dismembering an ox, forcibly dissecting its violent energy structure!

The water-bucket-thick lightning Dragon was split into five small, differently colored streaks of lightning—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth—the moment it touched the sword tip, streaming down the blade.

However, before Lin Haoyu could breathe a sigh of relief, Tie Xin beside him suddenly moved.

There was not a shred of hesitation in his eyes; instead, he erupted with a fearless madness. He swung his door-sized giant hammer and, with all his might, slammed it down onto the hilt of the broken sword stuck in the ground!

"Clang—!!!"

A deafening loud noise almost tore their eardrums.

An invisible shockwave spread out from the hilt, precisely shattering the five separated streaks of lightning light, turning them into a sizzling, dense electric net covering a radius of ten yards, enveloping the three of them.

The power of each arc of electricity was greatly weakened. Although it still left the three of them numb and bleeding, it was no longer fatal.

"Divine Weapon Pavilion secret technique, Lightning Splitting Technique..." Yun Shang clutched her chest, spitting out the words with difficulty, her eyes filled with shock as she looked at Tie Xin.

This secret technique, which used a Magical Artifact as a medium to forcibly disperse the power of the Lightning Tribulation, was practically dancing on the tip of a knife.

"Heh... this is my first time using it too..." Tie Xin grinned, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. The web between his thumbs and forefingers on both hands, which were holding the hammer, had completely split open, leaving them a bloody mess.

Just as the lingering echoes of the thunder had not yet dissipated, a twisted, resentful Divine Thought, as if coming from the Nine Nether Hell, sounded insidiously in the minds of the three, under the cover of the thunder:

"...Bloodline... is the key... Hehehe... my... key..."

The Bone-Eroding Demon General! It was actually able to transmit its Divine Thought across space, mixing it into the Heavenly Tribulation!

"Guard your minds!" Yun Shang's face turned pale. With no time to think, she immediately sat cross-legged and plucked the strings of her ancient zither with her slender fingers.

"Zheng—"

A high-pitched, sharp sound wave capable of shattering metal and stone soared into the sky, attempting to interfere with the Demon General's transmission.

However, the moment her sound wave touched the demonic thought mixed in the lightning power, it was like a drop of water falling into boiling oil.

"Pfft!"

Yun Shang spat out a mouthful of blood, her face instantly turning as pale as paper. Not only from the corner of her mouth, but blood was also seeping from her eyes, ears, and nose.

The frequency of her sound wave had actually resonated with the Demon General's demonic thought, and the violent power backlashed against her own Divine Soul!

"Miss Yun Shang!" Tie Xin was shocked and wanted to step forward to support her.

"Don't come over!" Yun Shang shouted sharply, forcibly suppressing her churning Qi and blood, pressing her hands tightly on the strings, not daring to make another sound.

The tribulation clouds in the sky rolled even more violently. The second Lightning Tribulation was already brewing, its power even greater than the first.

Lin Haoyu looked at Yun Shang, who was bleeding from her seven orifices, and the severely injured Tie Xin, then glanced at the restless lightning in the sky.

He couldn't wait any longer!

Without any hesitation, he grabbed his right arm, aimed at the drop of Wutu True Source wrapped in the Five Elements spiritual patterns on his arm, and swallowed it, along with the flesh, into his belly in one gulp!

As the Wutu True Source entered his body, it was like swallowing a great mountain.

That heavy, vast, and extremely pure energy exploded within him.

Lin Haoyu let out a muffled groan, his entire skeleton making "clattering" sounds of being unable to bear the burden. Beneath his skin, ancient earthy-yellow patterns resembling tortoise shells emerged and spread from the inside out, instantly covering his whole body.

Just at this moment, the second Lightning Tribulation—a pure Geng Metal lightning, turned into a giant white sword that tore through the firmament, crashing down!

Lin Haoyu didn't even have time to react.

The instant before that thunderous giant sword was about to reach his body, the tortoise shell patterns that had just formed on his skin seemed to come alive. They automatically peeled off from his skin and instantly condensed into a translucent earthy-yellow protective barrier 0.1 inches above his head!

"Clang—!"

The thunderous giant sword struck the protective barrier fiercely, emitting a deafening clash of metal on metal.

The lightning light collided fiercely with the earthy-yellow halo, and countless tiny golden electric arcs danced wildly on the surface of the barrier, scattering in all directions.

An incredible scene occurred.

Those wandering lightning lights actually uncontrollably outlined twisted and ancient strokes on the earthy-yellow barrier surface.

The style of those strokes was identical to some of the mysterious runes on the giant bronze door!

"Crack!"

The protective barrier ultimately could not completely block it and shattered.

The residual lightning struck Lin Haoyu, making him shudder all over. He opened his mouth and spat out a large mouthful of charred, stagnant blood, but he managed to save his life after all.

Before he could even catch his breath, the Void Ring on his right index finger suddenly emitted a strong suction force, forcibly swallowing a portion of the dissipated Lightning Tribulation energy.

On the surface of the ring, the phantom image of the stone ring representing Lin Chen shone brightly.

"Hum—"

A stream of pure lightning energy was converted and refined by the ring, finally condensing into a fingernail-sized miniature lightning bead in Lin Haoyu's palm, flashing with brilliant electric light.

Lin Haoyu instinctively looked inside the lightning bead.

His pupils suddenly contracted!

Inside that tiny lightning bead, he clearly saw a familiar figure—his father, Lin Chen!

Although his father's figure was blurry, he could clearly see him sitting cross-legged in a sea of violent lightning, his expression solemn.

Above his head, it was not one Lightning Tribulation, but three mutated Lightning Tribulations of different colors and terrifying auras, floating in a triangular formation, ready to fall at any moment!

Something had gone wrong on his father's side too!

"Rumble—"

The tribulation clouds in the sky had condensed to the extreme; the last and most terrifying Lightning Tribulation was about to descend.

Lin Haoyu clutched the lightning bead in his palm tightly, looked up at the dark, oppressive tribulation clouds, and the ominous premonition in his heart climbed to its peak.

He did not know how much time had passed; it felt as long as a century.

When the aftermath of the last Lightning Tribulation completely dissipated, the tribulation clouds in the sky slowly receded, and the long-lost sunlight shone back onto the earth, Lin Haoyu, Tie Xin, and Yun Shang were all collapsed on the ground, gasping for air.

They had survived.

Lin Haoyu struggled to climb up and looked behind him at the first opportunity.

The deep entrance to the Secret Realm had quietly closed at some point, as if it had never existed.

On the ground in front of them, beside the shadow of the trees cast by the sunlight, a blurred phantom image of a sundial, outlined by residual Spiritual Qi, was slowly dissipating.

The pointer of the sundial was clearly pointing at the "noon" mark.

Lin Haoyu remembered very clearly that when they entered the Secret Realm, it was exactly the morning of the Mao hour.

Outside, only half a day had passed.

But he remembered clearly that all his experiences in the Secret Realm—searching for clues, encountering the Corrupted, facing the Demon General, and finally fleeing—added up to at least half a month!

Fifteen days! Fifteen days in the Secret Realm were only equivalent to half a day in the outside world!

A time flow rate of thirty to one!

This astonishing ratio made Lin Haoyu's heart sink suddenly.

He thought of the giant bronze door that had been knocked open by more than half a foot, and a terrifying thought emerged in his mind—this abnormal time flow rate seemed... to precisely match the degree to which the bronze door was opened!

Just as his mind was shaken, in the distance, above the mountain peak where his father was in seclusion, the tribulation clouds that had already begun to dissipate suddenly stopped without warning.

In the center of the clouds, the aura of the Golden Core, representing destruction and rebirth, was stable and powerful.

Obviously, his father had successfully resolved the seventh Lightning Tribulation and was stabilizing his Realm.

However, before Lin Haoyu could breathe a sigh of relief, on the edge of the massive tribulation clouds, a highly incongruous, ink-like blackness quietly emerged.